


View from the Outside

by ScaleyWriter



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Drinking, Drug Dealing, Drug Use, Drugs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-08-13 04:59:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7963348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScaleyWriter/pseuds/ScaleyWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new student at Blackwell, viewing the events of the game from the outside.</p><p>A slightly humorous look at the game from a different perspective.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I looked around the room that was to be my home for the next two years. It's all right as far as rooms go, bed in the corner, desk underneath the window. I set up my pet snake's tank there, made sure he was comfortable. I peered through the class and saw him stretched out on his branch. I made a kissy face at him, like I usually do. Weird, I know, but he's like my kid, you know?

There's a bunch of boxes of my stuff which I can't be bothered to unpack now. The only items of real importance are already stashed in my wardrobe, in a clear plastic box, right at the bottom, pushed to the back. I pull a few bags out of it as I think about heading out and making some connections.

I head out the door, glancing down the corridor to my left. Weird, no one else in this area. Maybe they stuck the foreign kids on their own and there just weren't any others this year. I'm from England, so I'm hoping my accent with garner me some attention, and therefore, customers.

I've been the country about five years now, so not long enough to lose the accent, which is a good thing. People go fucking crazy for it, I don't know why. When my dad moved us out of London, we went to live with his girlfriend in Nevada. They met online after my parents divorced. Anyway, Parker loved my dad's accent, that's why she fell in love with him, or so she tells me.

I don't really care. Parker's 25. I'm 18.

I don't see my mum, she's still in London. She's a barrister for some big firm in the city. She never has time for us. When I was born, she was back at work within two weeks. My dad stayed home to look after me.

My dad's a soft soul, and couldn't take the ball breaking that my mum gave him, and especially since he never saw her, he asked for a divorce after 34 years of marriage. She gladly agreed and paid maintenance for me. She still does, actually. She doesn't have to, since I'm classed as an adult. And she paid for a fair whack of my tuition.

Most people hear all this and are baffled as to why to sell drugs. Well, rebelliousness for one. I never liked to be normal. What _is_ normal anyway? No one at this fucking school is normal, look at this shit. There are these whiteboard slates next to each room and only _one_ has been vandalised. Really? I took a closer look. 'Will bang 4 Jesus.'

Ugh, these girls. I bet it was some alpha bitch. Like this bitch walking towards me.

'Hi, I'm Victoria Chase,' she said, extending her hand towards me. Nice jewellery. Trust fund baby.

Who am I to talk though?

'Charley Greene,' I said, taking her hand and shaking it. Firm but not too hard, like mum taught me.

'Is that an English accent I detect?' She looks happy about it, maybe she thinks I'll add some class to this place. How wrong is she?

'Uh, yeah, London,' I find the best policy is get the city out first, lest they try to guess, which is always embarrassing. 'And no, I haven't met the Queen, or any royalty.'

She laughed, undeterred, 'Shame. You're new this semester, right?'

I nodded, taking in her outfit. Those are some expensive threads.

'What are you taking?'

Does she mean drugs? No, she means classes. 'English Lit, science, maths, nerdy shit.' I said, tapping my black framed glasses.

She laughed again. 'You know, we could always use a chance to add some class to our soirées,' she handed me a poster for some party in October. 'Come along if you'd like, you'd be very welcome.'

'Yeah, thanks,' I said, as I stuffed the paper into my pocket, 'Always need a chance to add to my client base.' If this bitch doesn't take drugs, I will be very, very surprised.

Her eyes widened slightly at my brash words, but she recovered quickly. She'd made a great barrister. 'Oh, I see, well, yes, we're no strangers that here.'

'Yeah, well this is a fucking college right? I bet everyone gets pissed at the weekend.'

She looked confused, probably because I said 'pissed'. 'Drunk,' I clarified.

'Ah.'

There's a bit of a stilted silence between us, which I was keen to disperse.

'So...I'm gonna go find something to eat,' I said, thumbing behind me. 'See you around?'

'I'm heading that way myself,' she said and I groaned inwardly. I'm really more of a loner than anything. Dealers don't have friends anyway, just acquaintances. Still, maybe I could meet some of her pals and get a hookup going. Arcadia Bay was a small town, on the sea front and those two facts equal one thing – drugs.

It actually turned out to be a good thing, Miss Thing joining me, since she knew where the canteen was, and I had no idea. There was the usual array of fried goods, chips and junk like that, and a salad bar which looked pretty inviting. I built myself a modest salad, Victoria doing the same, and we sat down where a bunch of her egocentric friends were already in attendance. That's cruel, actually. I hadn't even met the people yet and I was making judgments.

They seemed all right, as it goes, they greeted me enthusiastically after Victoria's introduction. There were two girls, one dark haired, one light haired. A really foxy blonde stopped by, all long legs and abundant energy. She didn't stay, much to my dismay, but I got her name: Dana.

There were a couple of blokes too, some stuck up looking prick called Nathan and a jock named Logan. Vic whispered to me that Dana didn't stop long because of Logan, some drama that no one knew the details of, but were desperate to find out.

If I had to guess why, I'd say it's because he's a lecherous wanker. He was flirting with Vic something chronic, even though he was getting the evil eye from that Nathan. I felt a little as though I was on set of a teenage high school drama TV show. Sweet Valley High maybe?

It must have been pissing Nathan off more than I thought, since he abruptly got up and left the table.

'What's with him?' I asked Vic, nudging her.

'Oh, don't worry abut Nate, he's fine. He's got some...family problems right now, it's getting to him a bit, I think.' she replied, her face taking on a expression of concern.

'Are you two...?' I waved my hands around to indicate a relationship.

'Oh, no, we're just very good friends,' she said, shaking her head. 'He's a good guy...people get him wrong though.'

'How so?' I questioned. I don't know why but I felt like there was more behind this guy.

'Just...you know, our dorm is named after his family, they do a lot of business here. They see him like some kind of spoiled rich kid that gets whatever he wants.'

'And he's not, right?' I said, a little sarcastically, but she didn't seem to catch it.

'Oh no, he is, like, so generous. He usually hooks us up parties. Wonder how he'll feel about a little competition.'

'Oh god, I'm not going to have to have a turf war with him, am I?' I laughed. There is _no way_ this rich kid would be getting supplies like I would. I guessed he gets it from someone else, maybe another local friendly neighbourhood dealer. Someone I would have to meet.

Vic laughed with me and said, 'Well, I'm sure there's a lot of people that would prefer to get something from a girl rather than a guy, you know what I mean?'

I did know what she meant, and how. Girls were particularly vulnerable to laced products or sudden price increases that could only be matched with sexual favours. Sick bastards. Or else they offered 'freebies' with no strings, but were later used as blackmail for getting the aforementioned sexual favours.

I stood to leave, saying a quick goodbye to everyone before getting the hell out before any one would follow me. I was dying for a smoke, and I needed to find somewhere.

I wandered around for a while around the campus, admiring the weird art work. Black and white photographs that seemed pretty sexual for a school, but what did I know? I wasn't an artist.

Like I said before, this place was really odd. Some chick with black hair was flying a fucking drone of all things. I saw a bunch of skaters nearby, and headed that way, hoping to make a sale before checking out.

I spotted that same fox from earlier, Dana, sitting with one of the skaters. Lucky moron.

His named turned out to be Trevor, and his mate Justin bought an eighth from me. I charged him a little more than I usually do, but I guess that must be the usual price or he was begging for it, since he didn't question me.

I made a little small talk with them all before taking off and walking towards the shore.

It was cold, but peaceful there on the sand, the wind wasn't too bad and I've always loved the sound of the surf. I sparked my joint and leant back on my elbows to watch the grey sky above me, the sun really trying hard to peek through the clouds before it set.

This place really wasn't all that bad. I'd have to wait and see what the classes were like and I adore English so I was kind of looking forward to getting stuck into it.

'You might wanna take that further down, 'fore you get busted,' said a voice from behind me.

I look round to see a tall blonde guy, lots of tattoos standing there, with a dog at his side, some Alsation mix. Cute mutt. Bit scary though, though I suppose that's the point.

'You go to school here?' he asks.

'What's it to you?' I retorted, standing up to face him. 'You the police?'

'Girly, if you knew who I was, you would not be askin' me that.'

'Well, I obviously _don't_ know who the fuck you are, do I?' I took a drag before chucking the spent roach on the sand. 'I'm finished any way.' I pushed past him to leave, skirting around his dog as I did so.

''Name's Frank,' he said, by way of introduction.

'Cool,' I said, throwing an impersonal wave behind me as I walked off.

What a bunch of weirdos around here. I was going to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more 'settling in', meeting people etc.

I woke up earlier than I intended to, probably because I crashed out when I got back to the dorm. I had run into another couple of students on my way through.

One was a freckle faced waif of a girl, with short dark hair, who scuttled past me shyly with a Polaroid camera clutched in her hands. And a sweet looking blonde girl who I assumed was the victim of the whiteboard vandalism, since I spotted a gold crucifix around her neck. She seemed quite nice. She stopped to talk to me but I didn't chat for long.

I usually preferred to wake and bake but I figured I'd better wait until I knew how the land lay and whether there were security patrols before sparking up. It also made me think about the bloke from yesterday. In a town full of oddities, he actually seemed pretty normal.

I heaved myself out of bed reluctantly, pushing a hand through my hair. I took a look at myself in the mirror beside my bed. I guess I'm okay looking. I've got long black hair that I usually plait and sling over my shoulder, brown eyes and nose with a turned up tip which I like. My mouth is small and my eyebrows probably need plucking but I don't go in for that sort of thing. My style is fairly boyish. I like baggy jeans, hoodies but I do wear cute t-shirts – to balance out the tomboy aspect, I guess.

I made my way to the communal shower rooms – gross. I hated this kind of thing. It's what puts me off swimming. Still, one needs a way to get clean.

The other good thing about being up so early is that no one else was awake to disturb me, therefore I could avoid a Carrie-like scene. I stood under the water for a long time, washing all the jet lag off of me. I'd only gotten into Oregon yesterday and travelled straight to Blackwell. Stupid idea, really. But I wanted to have one last night of freedom, so I'd gotten blasted with some friends.

Back in my room, I started the arduous task of drying my hair. I liked it long, but I hated the work that went with it. I thought that I might have been disturbing other students but I quickly dismissed the idea, thinking that we'd all be making a hell of a lot of noise over the term.

I did a pretty shoddy job of drying my hair, so I just plaited it like usual and got dressed. As I said, I'm pretty boyish so I stuck on a pair of boyfriend style jeans, a white long sleeved top, with a black short sleeved one layered on it, then chose a green hoodie to keep me warm. I usually wear Vans or Converse, so I just picked the first pair of shoes that came to hand.

I also started to unpack a few more boxes, slinging items onto my desk, shoved some under the bed. As I was picking a few more bags out of my plastic box, I heard a shy knock at the door.

'Come in!' I called, quickly shoving the weed into my pockets.

The door opened and there stood the shy churchy girl from yesterday.

'Oh, hey,' I said, standing to greet her. ''Scuse the mess.'

'It's all right,' she smiled at me. 'My room's the same. I'm Kate, by the way.' She stepped into the room, having a little glance around, like she didn't want to offend me by staring.

'Oh!' She made a startled noise. 'Is-is that a _snake?_ ' She peered closely at Yahtzee's tank.

'Yeah, that's Yahtzee,' I said, walking over the tank, unlocking the glass door. 'He's a sweetheart.'

I turned over his hide and fished him out. He stayed balled up in my hand, probably irritated at the disturbance.

Kate took a step back. 'Don't worry, I'm not going to chuck him at you. It'd hurt him, and scare you, a bit of a lose-lose all round, wouldn't you say?' I said, as I unravelled him and held him between my hands, keeping him balanced.

'His patterns are lovely,' Kate said quietly. She still looked scared. 'What type of snake...?'

'He's a Royal Python,' I explained, holding him up to my face. 'Though here you guys call them ball pythons.'

'I've never held a snake before,' she said, still looking nervous, but also curious.

'Do you want to?' I asked, holding him out to her. I guess she wasn't feeling that brave, since she jumped back a little. 'Maybe not today.'

'Maybe not,' she said with a laugh. 'Sorry to be such a scaredy-cat.'

'Nah, don't worry about it,' I said, putting Yahtzee back in his tank and locking the door. 'So, what can I do you for?'

'Sorry, what?' she looked confused. Maybe my accent was too thick for her? People did say that I talked fast, perhaps she couldn't understand me.

'How can I help?' I asked.

'Oh! I just wanted to invite you to breakfast. Classes start today and I thought a good breakfast would set me on the right path.' She was very softly spoken, her voice oddly soothing. 'I heard your hair dryer and thought I'd introduce myself.'

'Yeah, sure!' I suddenly felt ravenous. 'What's the breakfast like here?'

'It's good! They have fruit and cereals...' She gabbled on and on about the food as we walked to the canteen. Her conversation petered out somewhere around the time we spotted that rich kid snob from yesterday, Nathan.

He was leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette, and he looked, well, exhausted. Like he'd been up all night. He likely had been. Vic said he supplied their parties, he probably snorted a few lines up his spoiled nose and tweaked out all night. He was giving Kate an odd look, sort of like he fancied her, but more than that. Something akin to want. Odd, although I suppose I shouldn't have been at all surprised.

We passed by a noticeboard that had tons of missing person posters tacked up. Nodding towards it, I asked Kate about it. 'Did you know this person?'

'No, I wasn't at Blackwell when she went missing,' she said, shaking her head. 'It's awful news though, I pray she's found safe.'

When we got to the canteen it was fairly dead and Kate wasn't wrong about the food. I made myself a fruit salad that bordered on unhealthy with all the yoghurt I chucked on top of it.

We made idle chit chat while we ate, Kate telling me about the photography class she was taking, taught by some hot shot who used to be famous. I told her about my classes and we talked about literature for a while.

I spotted the little dark haired pixie from yesterday, and Kate called her over to join us.

'Max, this is Charley. Charley, Max,' Kate introduced us.

'Hey Max, what's up,' I said, giving her a smile. I always want to bring shy people out of their shells and this one was _painful_.

'Hi Charley,' she barely spoke, more like whispered.

'Max is taking photography too,' Kate said proudly.

'Ah cool, so you're both photo nerds?' I pointed at the Polaroid Max had placed on the table. 'Retro girl, huh?'

Max looked embarrassed, her cheeks reddening.

'Hey man, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it,' I said apologetically. 'I know jack shit about photography, so you're already on a winner by default.'

She still looked uncomfortable, and I regretted being so over-familiar with someone I had just met.

I looked around to find a conversation starter since I had just murdered the previous one. I saw another noticeboard and there were some more of those missing person posters.

'Did you know this missing girl, Max?' I asked. 'Lots of these posters around.'

'Oh...no...I wasn't here then,' she replied, her blush having receded by now.

'Yeah Kate said she wasn't here then either. Wonder who put them up?'

'It's really awful,' Max said, her face full of concern. 'I hate to think what could have happened to her.'

'Yeah, fuckin' awful,' I said. 'So young as well. I hope she just left town and nothing bad happened.'

Kate and Max nodded in agreement.

I hated seeing Missing Person posters, they always make me sad. My mum sometimes prosecutes people who were arrested for kidnapping. I'd snuck a look into her files once, and some of the evidence was fucking gruesome. People are sick, what they do to fuel their fantasies. And they always have some crazy defence, they come up with all kinds of bullshit. Like, 'she was pure, and I wanted to help keep her that way'. Yeah right, like they'd stay pure around you, you sick fucker.

Since my second line of conversation had depressed everyone, I left to organise my bag for my first lesson. There was a bit of a spring in my step as I went back to my room, I was genuinely looking forward to English. I spotted Vic hanging out on a bench outside the dorm, having a cigarette with Nathan. This geezer really got around, he was everywhere.

'Hey, Vic,' I said, and nodded to Nathan in greeting.

'Charley,' she said warmly. She was clearly a huge bitch, but she was nice to me, and that was a good thing. You never want to get on the wrong side of an alpha bitch, they always dig up some personal shit about you. They're worse than a private investigator.

'You two never met properly, did you?' she asked, turning to Nathan.

'No, but you're my competition, right?' I said to him. 'Don't worry, I won't put you out of business, I only push green, anyway.'

'Doesn't bother me, but it'd probably bother Frank,' he said, his finger tapping against his leg relentlessly. Dude was a bag of nerves. Never stopped fidgeting, it was infuriating to watch. I wanted to smack his hand.

'Who's Frank?'

'Arcadia's _only_ dealer.'

'Well, he fucking was, but now he isn't, yeah?' I didn't mean to sound so aggressive, his tone just bothered me.

He puts his hands up in mock surrender. 'Only saying.'

'Please, don't argue you two, it's far too early,' Vic said, placing a hand on Nathan's shoulder. So she said they weren't together, but they were close, that's for sure. Quite sweet, actually.

Two rich kids together – who else would go for them? Other people's lives were worlds apart from theirs. No one would understand them, except each other.

'Maybe I should meet this Frank guy – where does he live?' I asked, sweetening my tone somewhat.

'Anywhere you see an RV, that's where he is,' Nathan said, pulling out yet another cigarette, offering it to Vic, who declined, then to me, to my surprise. I took it from him and lit it. 'He's got a dog, too. Never without that fucking mutt.'

Dog? Maybe he was that same bloke from yesterday.

'Is he tall? Blonde? Tattoos all over his neck?' I asked, taking a drag. I do love a cigarette on a cold, crisp morning.

'Yeah, that sounds like him. Where'd you see him?' Nathan asked.

'On the beach, yesterday afternoon,' I said. 'I was having a smoke and he told to me to move up the beach. Come to think of it...he did mention his name was Frank. I just remembered.'

'There you go then, you've met your guy.'

'Hm, I just thought he was a nosey fucker, I was kind of rude to him.'

'You? Rude? No way,' he said with a smirk. Twat.

'Yes, shocking I know,' I said, rolling my eyes. 'It's my English charm, you see. Works every time.'

I checked the time on my phone. 'Fuck, I gotta dash. See you around.'

I have _never_ spent this much time talking to anyone since I came here. Everywhere I went, seemed somebody wanted to chit chat. I was very nearly late for class, but made it just in time.

Finally, some normality.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter brings us up to the week of the party where Kate was drugged so we can begin to get into the game's timeline.
> 
> Although I just thought about the alternate timeline...not sure how I'm going to tackle that.

The weeks passed in a bit of a blur of classes and various nights out. I had settled in well with my classes, and made friends with most of the students I attended those classes with. I admit, most of it was due to my accent and pretending to be wowed by American products, even though I'd lived in Nevada for going on six years.

I still had to maintain a safe distance from everyone, I didn't like to get too close and some of those people just didn't play nice. Vic really had a hate thing for Max that was clearly due to her infatuation with their teacher. I wasn't sure that I understood the attraction myself. Yeah sure, he was pretty handsome, but nothing noteworthy. Still, it was pissing her off royally, because he paid attention to Max and not Vic.

I told her not to sweat it, that he couldn't do shit with either of them because he's a teacher and he'd get kicked out if he touched them, but she didn't want to hear it.

I swear, if I have to listen to one more goddamn lecture about how innovative his art work is, I'll kill myself. That and the bloody 'Everyday Heroes' content. Christ, these kids were working themselves into a frenzy.

'Can't you afford to go to San Francisco any time you like?' I had asked Vic one evening in her room.

'Ugh, it's not about that Charley, it's about the recognition,' she'd replied haughtily, turning in her chair to face me.

'And about trying to bang your teacher, too, right?'

'Charley, you are _so_ crass sometimes.'

Think I hit a nerve there. She was desperate for him, which was out of character for her, but lust does weird things to people.

Still, she and her friends were paying customers and I'd been invited to a Vortex Club party on Friday. Should be fun. No chance for me to sell anything there, though. The treats du soir were likely to be more uppers that anything. Coke, molly, speed, acid – that sort of thing.

Nathan had hit me up to say he was supply gathering on the Thurdsay night and asked if I'd like to join him. 'Meet Frank properly,' he'd said.

I was keen, because I hadn't seen him around at all since the incident on the beach, and who knows, one day I might fancy ripping a fat line of charlie and I didn't have a supplier. I didn't really dabble in Class A's much, but sometimes a party mood takes me.

So we drive to the beach, the opposite end of the school and park nearby some jacked up looking RV. The licence plate read BRKBD. I figured that 'fuck the police' was his motto, judging by that. Might as well paint a sign on the side reading I SELL DRUGS.

Nathan knocked on the side door and stepped back, indicating I should do the same. The reason for doing so became clear when the door slammed open, hitting the side of the vehicle. There stood Frank, holding back his dog with one hand, his other clutching a beer bottle.

'Bit early, aintcha?' he said to Nathan gruffly.

'Got other shit to do tonight, brah,' Nathan said coolly. 'Gonna let us in?'

'Yeah, yeah,' Frank said, letting go of the dog, who ran out onto the sand. 'Don't go too far, Pomp!'

'Pomp?' I couldn't resist commenting on such a name.

'Hey, you're that girl from the beach,' Frank said, squinting at me a little. 'The one who said I was a cop.'

'I never _said_ you were a cop, you were just asking questions like one.'

'Look, can we just hurry this shit up, I got places to be _and_ I gotta take your ass back to Blackwell before I go.' Nathan was nothing if not impatient. He was so restless all the time as well. Always smoking, always tapping his leg or hands, he couldn't keep still.

Frank handed over an opaque bag, which Nathan opened to check, and I could see it was filled with lots of bags of pills, wraps of cocaine and speed and few bottles of something I didn't recognise. Nathan seemed satisfied, and gave Frank a wad of bills. 'Should all be there.'

Frank didn't bother counting the money, but instead looked at me, 'So where's that accent from?'

'Can't you tell? England, genius.' I really don't mean to be so antagonistic but when people talk to me like that, I can't help but reply in kind.

'Come on, man, we gotta go,' Nathan was stood to go but I didn't feel like leaving, so I waved him away.

'I'll make my own way back to Blackwell, it's cool.'

'Suit yourself.' He clattered the door open and left, slamming the door none too quietly behind him.

Figuring this was one place I didn't have to mind my manners, I pulled out a joint I'd prepared earlier and lit it. I took a drag and offered it to Frank, who accepted.

'Not bad. Where you get it from, you grow it?' he asked, handing it back to me.

'Nah, no place to grow at school. Got a friend back in Nevada grows it for me, his cousin's a long distance courier, hands it over to me,' I explained. 'Probably took some of your customers, sorry about that.' My apology obviously wasn't sincere but Frank didn't seem to care.

'I get more money offa that rich kid prick for other shit rather than weed. And it ain't such a good idea for me to be pushing drugs at a school, so you're doing me a favour girly.'

'So, what's with the name Pomp?' I didn't want to get into a pissing contest with this guy, he looked like he could fly off the handle at any time.

'Pompidou's his real name,' he said, taking a sip of beer.

'Really? All right, then.'

'What, you expected it to be Killer or Butch or something?'

'Well yeah, looks like a junkyard dog.'

'Well he _ain't._ He's a dog with a cushy life, like they all should have.'

Obviously I read Frank wrong, obviously he was a member of PETA.

'You got pets?' he asked.

'Yeah, I've got a snake, a python,' I said enthusiastically. It's nerdy but I really loved to talk about snakes. 'His name is Yahtzee.'

'Yahtzee? And you're giving me shit for Pompidou?' he looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

'I have no idea why I named him that, just thought something 'out there' would fit, y'know?' I felt a little awkward, sitting there, so I drew my legs up so I could hug my knees.

'How old are you, anyway?' he asked, finishing his beer. He went to his fridge and pulled another out, passing it to me. I popped it open with my lighter and took a swig.

'Eighteen.'

'So you do go to Blackwell, then?'

'Yup.'

'Studying what?' I don't know why he was so interested. Maybe he felt like he had to make conversation, seeing as I had crashed his private time. Though I got the feeling that he didn't get many visitors. They probably saw him as some scary, dangerous guy, who'd slit your throat as soon as look at you.

'English, maths, science,' I said without enthusiasm. Every conversation the last month had centred around that question.

'And you deal drugs? Why the fuck do you deal? Rich enough to get into the school, you don't need any money,' he seemed annoyed, maybe he thought I should be a good schoolgirl, quiet and in line.

'Eh, it's a hobby. Look, it's something I got into back home, and I like doing it, so, there you are.'

'You never did tell me your name.'

'Mary Jane,' I said sardonically.

'Fuck off with that. That's really your name?'

'Nah, but it would be good right? My name's Charley.'

'Now I know you're joking. What are you gonna say next, Molly?'

I laughed. 'No seriously, it's Charley. It's short for Charlene.'

'Charlene's a nice name,' he said, getting up to answer the scratching at the door. Pompidou came whizzing in, immediately investigating his food bowl and looking at Frank expectantly when he found it empty.

'It's all right, I guess.' I watched as he got up to open a can of dog food and emptied it into Pompidou's bowl. 'Listen, sorry for being so wanky on the beach that day. I've come a long way from home and everyone here is so odd.'

'What the fuck does wanky mean?' he laughed as he sat back down.

'Sorry, uh, I mean...bitchy?'

'Nah, don't worry about it. You're right, this town is fucking weird.' He looked tired, he was rubbing his face and I took this as my cue to leave.

'Cheers for the beer, Frank,' I said, waving my bottle. 'I'm gonna head out now. See you around.'

'Yeah see ya.'

I opened the door, and jumped down the steps, closing the door carefully behind me, not slamming it like Nathan. It wasn't too late, so I figured a nice stroll down the beach with a joint would be perfect. I had my music, I had a drink – perfect.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charley attends a Vortex Club party where Kate is clearly not herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, tons of drug use in this chapter.

On the Friday, my last class was cancelled because the professor was sick, so I hung out in my room with Vic and smoked instead. She told me that she blazed it in her room, so obviously no one gave a fuck about what the students were up to. That didn't surprise me in the slightest. The only thing I'd seen close to resembling security was this one dude who clearly thought he was still in the Army.

'You're still coming tonight, right?' Vic asked from her spot on the sofa.

'Yeah, I guess – what are these parties usually like?' I asked, reclining on my bed, joint in hand, an ashtray balanced on my stomach.

'They can get pretty wild, depending on who comes. Nate's bringing the treats so everyone's sure to get involved.'

'So I'm thinking EDM? Speed, molly?'

She nodded and I thought it sounded like fun. 'Yeah, I'm in.'

'Wonderful! It's four now, so how about you come by my room around seven – we'll all go together.'

'Yeah, I like it – harem of shrieking girls, that oughta scare everyone out of our way.'

She must have been used to my acerbic nature, as she just ignored this and left. I lay where I was for a while, puffing on my joint, mentally going through my wardrobe. I actually did own a couple of skirts and dresses, despite the image I portrayed. Maybe I'd shock them all...then again, maybe no one would even care.

* * *

 

'Nice going, girl,' Vic cheered as I finished a row of shots.

'That is some fucking disgusting shit – what is it?' I said with a grimace, wiping my mouth.

'Something with tequila, not sure on the exact mix,' she yelled into my ear, the volume of the music forcing her to do so.

I could Nathan was none too subtly racking up some lines of coke, so I nudged Vic and nodded towards him. She got my gist and walked with me to join him.

'Sharing?' I said to him, taking the rolled up bill in his hand from him.

'I guess I am now,' he replied, looking a bit antsy.

I leant down to the table and sniffed the line quickly, rubbing my eye as I brought my head up. I passed the bill to Vic and swapped seats with her. I cast an eye around the room, it was full of people, drinks spilling everywhere as they all got overexcited. These kids could not handle their drugs and alcohol. I indicated to Vic I was going to smoke and she came to join me. As we were making our way outside, I spotted Kate.

I nudged Vic. 'Check it out – she looks wasted!' And she did. I'd never imagine her in a place like this but she was really stumbling around, although I couldn't see a drink in her hand. She nearly tripped when she bumped into a table but Nathan was nearby, and steadied her. He put his arm round her and was talking to her.

Vic had a gleam in her eye, that I'm sure wasn't due to the coke. 'She has been wasted since she got here, didn't you see her before?'

'No, I was busy trying to keep Logan from sticking his hand up my skirt – repeatedly.' In the end, I had to be forceful and push him away.

'Doesn't matter, I got it all on video,' she seemed very pleased with herself.

'Fuck's sake Vic, does it really matter that much to you?' I said as I pushed open the door into the cold night air. I pulled two cigarettes from my pack, and held one out for her.

'Come on, she's always going on about abstinence and the importance of self respect, and now look at her!'

'But she hasn't _personally_ bothered you, has she?' I asked. 'Then why bother?'

'Whatever,' she said dismissively, turning to talk to Courtney. I also got involved, talking to someone from the football team who did not try and sexually harass me. The conversation wasn't riveting but we both talked at each other for a while, chain smoking.

More shots and lines followed and I couldn't tell you how I got back to my room that night.

* * *

 

When I woke, I felt like absolute hell. I was on my bed, still fully clothed, reeking of cigarettes, and my nose was blocked. Ahhh, the wonders of youth!

I struggled to sit up, rubbing my face under my glasses, noting the mascara that came away on my fingers. Fuck it, I needed to wash my face. Might as well face the music now.

Sitting up, my stomach lurched in complaint. I wondered whether I would be sick but I choked the feeling down and left my room. As I came out of my corridor, I saw Kate lying in front of her dorm room. I rushed over to her, calling her name.

'Kate...Kate! You okay?' She didn't look too good, very pale and not responding. I opened her door and attempted to pull her up. 'Kate, come on, work with me here.'

She finally started to rouse as I got her to a sitting position, rubbing her face. After a struggle, she managed to stand while leaning on me. I led her into her room, settling her on her bed. There was a glass of water on her night stand, which I handed to her. She drank from it greedily, before passing out.

I wasn't really sure what else to do with her, so I just sat there for about ten minutes until I was sure she wasn't choking and left her to sleep. She must have drank more than I thought last night, but fuck if I know. I was totally wasted.

I went to the bathroom and took my glasses off, placing them on the sink while I splashed my face. I felt a little better, getting all the old make up off but still felt queasy.

On my way back to my room, I peeped in on Kate. She was curled up, asleep, facing the wall. I checked that she was breathing and went back to bed myself.

* * *

 

I woke up some time in the afternoon to some insistent knocking. Didn't anyone around here respect people's personal space?

Vic burst in, all excited, waving her phone around, twittering excitedly.

'Shit, Vic, keep it down will you? I'm fucking knackered,' I complained.

'Just look. At. This. Look at it!' She thrust her phone in my face and I saw it was the video of Kate that she'd recorded last night. I pushed the phone away from me.

'Get the fuck out of here,' I said, annoyed. 'I saw her this morning, she was totally fucked up. Don't go spreading that shit around.'

'Oh this is _definitely_ going online,' she simpered.

'That is some fucked up shit. Do not fucking do it,' I warned her.

'Why shouldn't I? It's not my fault she got drunk and made out with all those people. It's hilarious considering all the shit she's been spouting!'

'It's wrong and you know it is.'

'Oh please, don't act like you're better than me because you were there too and didn't help her.'

'Right, and that is exactly like taking a video and then posting that shit online after someone tells you how fucked up they were. Do you even think she drank that much?' I knew Vic was a bitch, but I didn't realise quite how callous she could be.

'Whatever, Charley,' she retorted as she sauntered out of my room.

Did people really still behave like that? It was a truly heinous thing to do. I felt guilty that I hadn't done more for Kate last night, but I hadn't really been aware of what was going on myself. Come to think it, the last time I saw her, she was with Nathan.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay, I had writer's block! I began to miss Frank so hopefully updates will be quicker.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

By Monday, I could see that Vic was true to her word. The whole bloody school was talking about Kate's 'porn' video.

'It's not porn,' I tried to explain to people, but they didn't listen. Had these backwater fucktards ever actually _seen_ any porn?

I kept away from Vic after that. I may not be the most upstanding member of society but I would do anything as fucked up as she did. I imagined that some of the professors had seen the video or at least knew what was going on but they appeared to be utterly fucking useless. Not one of them addressed us and told us to cut it out. Great pastoral care, Blackwell. Way to bring your students together.

This is where it go confusing. Blackwell was nominally called a college but there were students as young as 16. High GPA or not, gifted or not, that made this place a high school. And the adults in this high school were happy to let this flagrant bullying to continue with no remark whatsoever.

I thought about talking to the Principal but he was a Grade-A fucking moron with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

I wondered if Mr Fucking Superstar, Jefferson, had anything to say about this. He was closer to the students than any one else in the faculty, but again, he appeared to not have one solitary care. On the other hand, I didn't take his class, so who knows, maybe he told them all to lay off Kate. It was possible, but doubtful. Guy was probably spineless like the rest of them.

I had tried to sit with Kate for English, but her body language told me she didn't want to be disturbed, by anyone. She curled her body towards the wall, her head resolutely facing downwards to her book, but she was doing anything but reading. I didn't really know what to say to her so I placed my hand on her shoulder and awkwardly patted her. I wasn't sure if she knew that I helped her back into her room on Sunday morning and I didn't like to bring the subject up.

She also appeared to be avoiding absolutely everybody. I wondered if she'd been seeing that shy girl, Max, at all this week. Max wasn't at the party, the Vortex Club didn't seem to be her thing, so she didn't know what exactly went on, but she seemed determined to find out.

* * *

 

Someone pulled the fire alarm in the afternoon, so we all had to traipse out into the freezing cold courtyard. I spotted Nathan hurrying away, lighting a cigarette as he did so. Something shady was going on with that fucker, and hell, I'm nosey, so I trailed him for a while. He didn't go far, just around the corner of the building. Just before I rounded the corner, I heard his voice.

'Calm down, _calm down_. No one saw you, no one heard you. No one will know.'

What's he talking about? Sounds like psycho babble but he's really trying to convince himself of something. I pressed my back against the wall so he can't see me, but he didn't talk again. When I peeked around the corner, he was already gone.

I could have just chalked this up to Arcadia Bay nonsense but something told me there was more to it. What could he be talking about? Nathan displayed a lot of erratic tendencies that are most certainly exacerbated by nicotine, alcohol and narcotics. He was jumpy at the best of times, and could never keep still. His heart must be racing constantly – what a terrible way to live.

Glancing up, my gaze swept across the car park and I saw Frank's RV parked up. Odd that he was on campus. I guess the members of staff really did not care about who was on their property. I walked over to it, pondering his reason for being there. When I reached his door, I heard Pompidou barking before I even knocked. The dog still scared me a little bit, so I hesitantly rapped on the door. I heard Frank call Pompidou away from inside before the door opened.

'Hey, Charley,' he said, surprised to see me, 'What you doin' here?'

'Could ask you the same thing,' I replied.

I looked behind me to see if there was anyone else around, but there was only a guy leaning against the hood of his car, like he was waiting for someone. He looked awfully young.

'Gonna let me in?'

He stood back to give me room and I climbed the steps to enter and sat down on a bench behind the small table.

'You want sumthin' to smoke? I was just about to when you knocked,' he asked as he brought a lighter to the joint in his mouth.

'Yeah, cheers,' I said, taking it when he passed it to me. 'So, you waiting on someone?'

'Some chick owes me money, said she'd meet me here,' he explained, sitting opposite me, his hand reaching down to stroke Pompidou behind his ears.'Heard the alarm, there a fire?'

'Nah, I don't think so, a kid probably forgot to do their homework, so they pulled the alarm.'

'Sounds like somethin' I woulda done,' he laughs, taking a drag.

'Not a teacher's pet then?' I ask, biting at the skin around my nails.

'No way,' he said, putting his hand on mine to bring it away from my mouth. 'Don't do that man, drives me nuts.'

It seemed an oddly intimate thing for him to do, considering that we hadn't met that long ago. Once again, I got that feeling that nobody knew him. He was this early twenties guy, in a town full of people who were either children or at least in their late thirties.

I glanced down at the table and noticed a bracelet on his wrist. It was quite feminine, twisted metal held together with red thread.

'That's unusual,' I said, inclining my head towards his wrist.

He shook his sleeve back and held his arm up, twisting it around. 'Yeah, it's kinda girly, but a friend gave it to me, so...'

'Oh a friend, eh?' I said, raising my eyebrows.

'Not like that,' he said, pushing his sleeve. 'Well, yeah, it is like that, just...not any more.'

'Shit, sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up if it's an ex or whatever.'

'No, she's not...it's just...I ain't seen her in a while. No one has.'

Something clicked in my mind. 'Are you talking about Rachel? The missing girl?'

He sat up a little straighter. 'Yeah, Rachel, you know her?' He sounded delighted to be able to talk about her.

'No, I don't know her,' I said, shaking my head. 'I haven't been here long enough. I've just seen those posters on campus.'

'Hm, yeah, Chloe put loads of those up, all over Arcadia,' he said, shaking his head. 'I don't think they're doing any good.'

I hadn't heard of any Chloe before. Maybe she was a friend of his too. I was about to ask, when I heard shouting from outside and tyres screeching. I jumped up from my seat to see what was going on. When I got the door open, I saw a huge, yellowing truck speeding off and Nathan was wailing on the young kid I saw before.

'Hey!' I yelled, running over to get between them. 'The fuck you doing, Nathan? Stop it!'

He'd already given the kid a black eye, but he'd gotten a few claw marks to the face.

'Get the fuck outta here, bitch,' he spat away. 'This has got nothing to do with you.'

'Fuck you, I'm making it my business,' I said, giving him a hard shove.

'Yeah, get the fuck outta here,' I heard Frank say from behind.

'You're all fucked,' Nathan said, turning and leaving, not before giving us all an evil glare.

'Shit, you OK man?' I said to the poor guy he'd hit.

'Yeah, I-I'm fine,' he said, putting his hand to his eye and wincing. 'Thanks for stopping him. He's really pissed off with me.'

'Why? Can't imagine you guys mixing with the same people.' I said.

'Dunno. I was with my friend, and he started shouting at her, pushed her, then a truck pulled up, a girl with blue hair was driving, and she took off. I said I'd stay and handle it.'

'Very noble,' I said, rolling my eyes. 'And a good way to get your arse kicked.'

'Hey, are you from England?' he asked, brightening.

I nodded. 'Yup, sure am. I'll make you a real cup of tea one day.'

He laughed. 'Thanks for helping me...I'm gonna go lick my wounds now.' He waved and walked back towards the school.

Frank and I walked back to the RV in silence, until I noticed someone had drawn something in the dirt on his window.

'Ha, someone nailed you, Frankie!' I laughed, pointing. He looked solemn, I wondered if it annoyed him.

'Uh, sorry, I hope I didn't offend you, I was just being flip.'

'Nah, it's just...only Rach ever called me Frankie,' he explained, looking a little lost.

I'm not the best in emotional situations so I awkwardly patted him on the arm. 'I didn't mean to...make you sad or anything.'

'S'alright.'

He looked sadder than I'd seen anyone and I didn't really know what to do. So I just did what I always do, said goodbye and left him to his thoughts. At least he had Pompidou.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charley meets up with Frank, and they drive to Chloe's hideout. Charley is not happy with what she witnesses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sincere apologies for the terrible length of time it took me to post. My daughter is getting older and at the time I stopped posting, she beginning to develop rapidly and I wanted to wholeheartedly be with her. She's nearly 2 now, so hopefully I will have more time to write.
> 
> If you stuck with me - thank you!

I'd been studying for over two hours when I finally put down my pen and stretched in my uncomfortable desk chair. I felt pretty pleased with my progress so I decided to celebrate with a cigarette. It was still light outside, although the sun was just beginning to set.

As I stepped outside, I saw a few people enjoyed the last minutes of daylight, some chatting, some smoking like me, someone taking a few photos, a couple holding each other, sneaking kisses here and there. I admired the view, allowing the tension to release from my shoulders. I'd been studying for a maths test that was scheduled for tomorrow morning.

As I extended my hand to tap the ash from my cigarette, I felt something cold. Puzzled, I looked at my hand. A snowflake? I looked up and could see an actual flurry falling from the sky.

How could this be? It was autumn, but it was mild for October. Certainly nowhere near snowing. Voices began to rise around me as people looked up at at the sky and exclaimed in surprise.

What an odd end to an odd day.

* * *

 

With a small sigh, I put my pencil down and pushed my test paper away from me. Almost immediately I pulled it back towards and rechecked my answers. I always doubted myself, never certain I'd gotten the right answers. Running my eyes over my answers, I was satisfied that I'd at least made an effort in the test, even though I was likely to receive a B or less.

Glancing around the classroom I saw that many of the other students had already completed the test, save for a few here and there who were furtively scribbling on their papers. The professor called for time and we all handed our papers to the student in front of us until they made their way to the teacher's desk.

'I'll grade these tonight and we'll discuss the answers during our next period,' the teacher informed us as the bell rang and the class got to their feet and gathered their belongings.

I didn't have a class next period, and after that was lunch so I decided to see whether Frank wanted some company. His RV was no longer in the school car park but I was certain I could find him nearby.

I left the school and crossed the main grounds, noting that the snow from yesterday had completely melted. I pulled out my phone and sent him a quick text. I received a fast reply, telling me he was on his way to see someone, but he could pick me up on the way. I met him a little way aways from Blackwell.

As I got in, it occurred to me that I had never actually seen him driving before. In the passenger seat, sat Pompidou, tongue hanging out, looking like he was smiling. Pretty cute. I gave him a pat and sat at the little dinner table.

'Where are off to?' I asked, lighting a cigarette.

'Gotta meet someone somewhere,' he replied.

'Very informative,' I said sardonically. 'Wanna elaborate?'

'You know I said I was meetin' someone yesterday?'

'Yeah.'

'Well, that person was the person with blue hair that kid mentioned – the one in the truck. That's Chloe.'

'Same Chloe with the posters?' I asked, looking out of the window. We'd only been driving a few minutes but I didn't recognise the area. It was becoming leafy and woody.

'That's the one. She owes me big and every time there's some fuckin' excuse. She's drivin' me mad. So I'm goin' to her little hideout.'

'A hideout?' I laughed at the mental image. 'How old is she – 12?'

'Nah, not like that. Someplace to hide out and smoke weed and drink beer, y'know. She used to hang with Rach there.'

'Oh, they were close?' I asked. I was intrigued to find out more about Rachel. 'If you were close with Rachel, were you with Chloe?'

'Chloe and I don't really get along, y'understand?' he said gruffly. 'She's a fuckin' pain in my ass.'

'Why'd you lend her to money then?' I questioned, probably too nosey for my own good.

'Rach's friend, like I said. Rach said she'd pay me back. I believed her.' He sounded annoyed but again with that tinge of sadness.

He stopped the RV in what was seemingly the middle of nowhere. 'Here we are,' he said, turning off the engine. 'Stay here, Pomp. You too.' He pointed to me as he opened the door to leave.

'Hey, why'd you pick me up if you were gonna do this on your own?' I objected, standing up.

'I always do business alone. Just stay here, I won't be long.' He didn't give me a chance to argue further, as he closed the door.

I decided against his advice and waited a few seconds before pushing the door open quietly. Pompidou stood up too, wagging his tail. 'No, boy, you stay here,' I whispered to him, closing the door behind me.

I cautiously followed Frank, taking care to stay concealed behind trees and bushes. It was a very quiet area, aside from the train line running alongside it. As I followed him, I could hear voices, quiet at first but growing louder as I came into an area that looked a bit like a rubbish dump. There was a falling down brick building that I could see had a dart board on one of the walls, along with a lot of graffiti.

As I crept closer, I could see a blue haired girl, who I took to be Chloe, and the little photography girl, Max, I'd seen with Kate. Chloe was arguing with Frank, shouting and pointing at his wrist. She must have seen the bracelet Rachel had given him. To my absolute horror, he pushed her back and pulled a flick knife from his back pocket, and brandished it at her. Max didn't hesitate though – she pointed a gun at him that she must had been hiding behind her back.

Frank didn't seem too bothered. He actually encouraged her to shoot him, and she tried. But she had no bullets. He snatched the gun from her hands and told Chloe to pay up or else.

I was shocked. I knew Frank was what he was but I hadn't actually seen him apply any violence to anyone. He turned around and found me standing there with an appalled expression.

'I fuckin' told you to stay put,' he said angrily, grabbing my arm and pulling me along with him.

'What the hell's wrong with you?' I said with venom, wrenching my arm from his grasp.

'She owes me money,' he said, like it was the most obvious reason in the world.

'She's a fucking _kid_!' I exclaimed. 'Would you pull a knife on _me_?'

'If you owed me, I probably would,' he said. 'But you wouldn't do somethin' like that.'

'That's not the point!'

'Yeah, the point is-'

'She owes you money, yeah, you said that several times. That isn't right Frankie, c'mon on now. Would Rachel be happy with you acting like this?'

'Don't fuckin' bring her into this, all right?' he said, his eyes flashing with anger. 'You didn't fuckin' know her.'

'You're right, I didn't,' I said, turning to walk back to the train tracks. 'And I won't ever get a chance to, but from what you've told me, she wouldn't be happy.'

'Hey, where you goin'?' he asked, trying to grab my arm again.

'Please don't grab me. I'm walking back to school.'

'Don't be dumb, I'll drive you back.'

'Mate, I don't really want to be in a vehicle with you right now, understand? Just leave me alone.'

'Fine, be that way,' he said, throwing his hands up and walked back to his RV.

I hoped that the train tracks led me back to campus, if not at least I could get into the Bay itself and pick up the school bus there.

* * *

 

It took me quite a while to eventually get back to Blackwell and I was exhausted by the time I made it. However, when I got there, I found the main square was totally deserted. It was oddly quiet, but I could hear the rumblings of gathered voices nearer the dorms. Rain had started to fall and by the time I was near to the dorms, it'd turned into a proper storm.

I rounded the corner to met with a horrifying scene. Those voices I'd heard had escalated to a crowd of shouts and gasps. Everyone was looking towards the sky and I followed their gaze to see Kate standing on the roof.

'Oh fuck, what's she doing up there?!' I said to the crowd at large.

'No one knows,' replied a dark haired girl with her phone in her hand, filming the scene. I wanted to slap it away. Where was anyone's empathy?

As I watched, Kate turned around. Was someone else up there? I noticed the security guard running towards the door, a panicked expression on his face. Then I saw who was up there with Kate – the camera girl with no bullets in her gun, Max.

She must be talking her down, I hoped her negotiation skills were good. Obviously I couldn't hear what they were saying, but we all watched with relief as Kate turned from the edge and fell into Max's arms.


End file.
